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Limiting Expansion

You can limit the length of a list produced by the expansion macro by delimiting it with a number. The delimiter, a positive integer added after the macro at-sign (@), tells the program to list the number of instruments you specify. If you delimit the macro with the number 1, the program displays the lead month contract only. By contrast, if you delimit the macro with the number 4, the program displays the lead-month contract and three of the out-month contracts. A delimited expansion macro employs the following syntax:

<symbol>@<n>

where <n> is a positive integer specifying the total number of contracts you want to display. For example, SP@4 would display the lead month of the S & P 500 index, and 3 of the out-month contracts. You can use the delimited expansion macro to list futures symbols. For more information on listing options, please read Using the Pound Sign Macro in Formulas.